Hermaphroditic interconnect system

Abstract

An electrical interconnect system employs electrical connectors in which both the housing (or support) and the contact(s) thereof are hermaphroditic, i.e., without gender limitations. Therefore, two such connectors may interconnect with each other. Contacts are arranged in a header or other housing or support in which at least two contacts, for example, adjacent contacts, respectively face in opposite directions. Bifurcated and trifurcated contacts have contacting portions respective ones of which face in opposite directions and are supported on parallel cantilever arms.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows: 
     
       1. An electrical interconnection system, comprising two substantially identical electrical connectors, each including electrical contact means for making an electrical connection, and housing means for supporting said electrical contact means, said housing means having guiding means for guiding the housing means into aligned coupled relation with the housing means of the other electrical connector to place the respective electrical contact means of said respective electrical connectors in electrical connecting relation, said electrical contact means comprising plural electrical contacts arranged in a row, each contact including a base and a contacting portion, said contacting portion including a cantilever arm protruding from said base and a curved contacting surface area at the distal end of said cantilever arm for contacting with a contact of similar configuration, and the contacting surface area of a plurality of said electrical contacts facing in respectively opposite directions such that said electrical contacts impart on said housing means about an axis parallel to said row of electrical contacts a net moment substantially equal to zero when in said electrical connecting relation. 
     
     
       2. The interconnection system of claim 1, wherein said curved contacting surface area of respectively adjacent electrical contacts face in respectively opposite directions. 
     
     
       3. The interconnection system of claim 1, wherein said curved contacting surface area of respectively adjacent electrical contacts face in respectively opposite directions. 
     
     
       4. An hermaphroditic electrical connector, comprising plural electrical contacts for making electrical connection, and support means for supporting said electrical contacts to connected engagement with identical respective electrical contacts of another substantially identical electrical connector, said housing means having means for guiding the housing means into aligned coupling relation with the housing means of the other electrical connector, said means for guiding comprising a wall, said wall having opening means therein for receiving a respective wall section of said another substantially identical electrical connector to permit nested overlying connected placement of said wall and said respective wall section when the electrical connector is connected to said another electrical connector, said support means having a longitudinal axis, and said electrical contacts imparting about an axis parallel to said longitudinal axis of said support means a net moment substantially equal to zero when in said connected relation. 
     
     
       5. An hermaphroditic electrical connector, comprising plural electrical contacts for making electrical connection, support means for supporting said electrical contacts, means for holding the electrical connector in connected engagement with another substantially identical electrical connector with respective electrical contacts in connected engagement with corresponding identical electrical contacts of said another electrical connector, said means for holding comprising a wall, said wall having opening means therein for receiving a respective wall section of said electrical connector to permit nested overlying connected placement of said wall and said respective wall section when the electrical connector is connected to said another electrical connector, said support means having a longitudinal axis, and said electrical contacts imparting a net moment substantially equal to zero on said support means about an axis parallel to said longitudinal axis when in said connected relation. 
     
     
       6. A housing for an electrical connector, comprising support means for supporting at least one electrical contact, said electrical contact having a cantilever arm which extends from said support means, and a shell at least partly coextensive with and at least partly surrounding said electrical contact, said shell including a wall which extends relative to said support means at least as far as said cantilever arm, said shell including guiding means for guiding said electrical connector to connected engagement with another electrical connector having a substantially identical guiding means, said guiding means including opening means for receiving at least part of the guiding means of said another electrical connector to permit a generally nested connection of said electrical connectors, said shell having a longitudinal axis, and said support means imparting a net moment substantially equal to zero on said shell about an axis parallel to said longitudinal axis when said electrical connectors are in electrical connected relation. 
     
     
       7. An electrical connector, comprising a housing including a base, a shell peripherally about at least part of the base, and an opening in said base, and a header unit including plural electrical contacts arranged in a row in a support, said electrical contacts each including a cantilever arm protruding from a base and a curved contacting surface area at the distal end of said cantilever arm for contacting with a contact of similar configuration, said curved contacting surface area of respectively adjacent electrical contacts facing in respectively opposite directions, and said header unit being positioned in said opening to position at least part of said plural contacts within said shell. 
     
     
       8. An electrical connector, comprising plural identical electrical contacts arranged in a row, each contact including a base and a contacting portion, and support means for supporting said electrical contacts at said base, said contacting portion including a cantilever arm protruding from said base and a curved contacting surface area at the distal end of said cantilever arm for contacting with a contact of similar configuration, and said curved contacting surface area of respectively adjacent electrical contacts in said row facing in respectively opposite directions. 
     
     
       9. The connector of claim 8, wherein said contacts comprise bifurcated contacts having a pair of cantilever arms extending generally in parallel and contacting portions on each cantilever arm. 
     
     
       10. The connector of claim 9, wherein the contacting portions of the pair of cantilever arms respectively face in opposite directions. 
     
     
       11. The connector of claim 8, wherein said contacts comprise trifurcated contacts having three cantilever arms extending generally in parallel and contacting portions on each cantilever arm. 
     
     
       12. The connector of claim 11, wherein the contacting portions of the pair of outer cantilever arms face in one direction and the contacting portion of the center cantilever arm faces in the relatively opposite direction. 
     
     
       13. The connector of claim 12, wherein the force created by bending the center cantilever arm is about the same as the force created by bending of both the outer cantilever arms. 
     
     
       14. An electrical connector, comprising plural identical electrical contacts arranged in a row, each contact including a base, a terminal portion, and a contacting portion, and support means for supporting said electrical contacts at said base, said contacting portion including a contacting surface area for contacting with an identical contact of another electrical connector, said contacting surface area of respectively adjacent electrical contacts in said row facing in respectively opposite directions, and said terminal portion including a surface area means extending angularly relative to said base for electrically connecting with a solder pad of a printed circuit board or the like. 
     
     
       15. The connector of claim 14, said terminal portion including a resilient arm, and said surface area means comprising a surface of said resilient arm, and further comprising mounting means for holding said support means to such printed circuit board to apply a force counteracting the resiliency of said resilient arm thereby to urge said surface area means thereof into engagement with said solder pad. 
     
     
       16. The connector of claim 15, wherein said solder pad is a solder pad of a printed circuit board, and wherein said mounting means holds said surface area means in engagement with said solder pad for attachment thereto compatibly with surface mount processing. 
     
     
       17. An interconnection system comprising two substantially identical electrical connectors, each electrical connector including gender-neutral electrical contact means for making an electrical connection, and housing means for supporting said electrical contact means, said housing means having guiding means for guiding the housing means into aligned coupled relation with the housing means of the other electrical connector to place the respective electrical contact means of said respective electrical connectors in electrical connecting relation, said electrical contact means comprising trifurcated contacts having three cantilever arms extending generally in parallel and contacting portions on each cantilever arm, and said center contact being more stiff than the outer two contacts. 
     
     
       18. The system of claim 17, said guiding means including a shell generally coextensive with and circumscribing at least a portion of said electrical contact means. 
     
     
       19. The system of claim 18, said shell including guiding means for guiding such electrical connector to connected engagement with another electrical connector having a substantially identical guiding means, and said guiding means including opening means for receiving at least part of the guiding means of such another electrical connector to permit a generally nested connection of such electrical connectors.   
     
     
       20. A board to board interconnection system comprising a plurality of circuit boards, and a substantially identical electrical connector mounted on each of said circuit boards, each electrical connector including gender-neutral electrical contact means for making an electrical connection, and housing means for supporting said electrical contact means, said housing means having guiding means for guiding the housing means into aligned coupled relation with the housing means of the other electrical connector to place the respective electrical contact means of said respective electrical connectors in electrical connecting relation, said guiding means including a shell generally coextensive with and circumscribing at least a portion of said electrical contact means, said electrical contact means comprising plural contacts arranged in a row, each contact including a base and a contacting portion, said housing means including support means for supporting said electrical contacts at said base, said contacting portion including a cantilever arm protruding from said base and a curved contacting surface area at the distal end of said cantilever arm for contacting with a contact of similar configuration, and said curved contacting surface area of respectively adjacent electrical contacts facing in respectively opposite directions. 
     
     
       21. An electrical apparatus, comprising an electrical device containing circuitry, plural electrical contact means directly mounted to such electrical device along a longitudinal axis thereof for mechanically connecting and electrically connecting said electrical device with another member, each electrical contact means including a base and a contacting portion, said contacting portion including a resilient cantilever arm protruding from said base and a curved contacting surface area at the distal end of said cantilever arm for contacting with an external member inserted to resilient engagement therewith, said electrical contact means imparting a net moment substantially equal to zero on said electrical device about an axis parallel to said longitudinal axis when in said connected relation, and wherein said contact means comprise bifurcated contacts having a pair of cantilever arms extending generally in parallel and contacting portions on each cantilever arm. 
     
     
       22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the contacting portions of the pair of cantilever arms respectively face in opposite directions. 
     
     
       23. An electrical apparatus, comprising an electrical device containing circuitry, plural electrical contact means directly mounted to such electrical device along a longitudinal axis thereof for mechanically connecting and electrically connecting said electrical device with another member, each electrical contact means including a base and a contacting portion, said contacting portion including a resilient cantilever arm protruding from said base and a curved contacting surface area at the distal end of said cantilever arm for contacting with an external member inserted to resilient engagement therewith, said electrical contact means imparting a net moment substantially equal to zero on said electrical device about an axis parallel to said longitudinal axis when in said connected relation, and wherein said contact means comprise trifurcated contacts having three cantilever arms extending generally in parallel and contacting portions on each cantilever arm. 
     
     
       24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the contacting portions of the pair of outer cantilever arms face in one direction and the contacting portion of the center cantilever arm faces in the relatively opposite direction. 
     
     
       25. An electrical apparatus, comprising an electrical device containing circuitry, plural electrical contact means mounted to said electrical device for mechanically connecting and electrically connecting said electrical device with another member, each electrical contact means including a base and a contacting portion, said contacting portion including a cantilever arm protruding from said base and a curved contacting surface area at the distal end of said cantilever arm for contacting with an external member inserted to engagement therewith, said electrical contact means comprising trifurcated contacts having three cantilever arms extending generally in parallel and contacting portions on each cantilever arm, each said electrical contact means imparting a net moment substantially equal to zero on said electrical device when in said connected relation, wherein the contacting portions of the pair of outer cantilever arms face in one direction and the contacting portion of the center cantilever arm faces in the relatively opposite direction, and wherein the center contact is wider than the outer two contacts. 
     
     
       26. An electrical apparatus, comprising an electrical device containing circuitry, plural electrical contact means mounted to said electrical device for mechanically connecting and electrically connecting said electrical device with another member, each electrical contact means including a base and a contacting portion, said contacting portion including a cantilever arm protruding from said base and a curved contacting surface area at the distal end of said cantilever arm for contacting with an external member inserted to engagement therewith, said electrical contact means comprising trifurcated contacts having three cantilever arms extending generally in parallel and contacting portions on each cantilever arm, each said electrical contact means imparting a net moment substantially equal to zero on said electrical device when in said connected relation, wherein the contacting portions of the pair of outer cantilever arms face in one direction and the contacting portion of the center cantilever arm faces in the relatively opposite direction, and wherein the force created by bending the center cantilever arm is about the same as the force created by bending of both the outer cantilever arms. 
     
     
       27. A trifurcated electrical contact, comprising a base and a contacting portion, said contacting portion including at least three cantilever arms protruding from said base and extending generally in parallel, and a curved contacting surface area at the distal end of each of said cantilever arms for contacting with an external member inserted to engagement therewith, and wherein the contacting portions of at least two cantilever arms face in one direction and the contacting portion of a cantilever arm located between said at least two cantilever arms faces in the opposite direction, and wherein the center cantilever arm is wider than the outer two cantilever arms. 
     
     
       28. An electrical interconnection system, comprising two substantially identical electrical connectors, each including electrical contact means for making an electrical connection, and housing means for supporting said electrical contact means, said housing means having guiding means for guiding the housing means into aligned coupled relation with the housing means of the other electrical connector to place the respective electrical contact means of said respective electrical connectors in electrical connecting relation, said electrical contact means imparting on said housing means a net moment substantially equal to zero when in said electrical connecting relation, said electrical contact means comprising plural electrical contacts arranged in a row, each contact including a base and a contacting portion, said contacting portion including a cantilever arm protruding from said base and a curved contacting surface area at the distal end of said cantilever arm for contacting with a contact of similar configuration, said curved contacting surface area of respectively adjacent electrical contacts facing in respectively opposite directions, and said contacts comprising bifurcated contacts having a pair of cantilever arms extending generally in parallel and contacting portions on each cantilever arm. 
     
     
       29. The connector of claim 28, wherein the contacting portions of the pair of cantilever arms respectively face in opposite directions. 
     
     
       30. An electrical interconnection system, comprising two substantially identical electrical connectors, each including electrical contact means for making an electrical connection, and housing means for supporting said electrical contact means, said housing means having guiding means for guiding the housing means into aligned coupled relation with the housing means of the other electrical connector to place the respective electrical contact means of said respective electrical connectors in electrical connecting relation, said electrical contact means imparting on said housing means a net moment substantially equal to zero when in said electrical connecting relation, said electrical contact means comprising plural electrical contacts arranged in a row, each contact including a base and a contacting portion, said contacting portion including a cantilever arm protruding from said base and a curved contacting surface area at the distal end of said cantilever arm for contacting with a contact of similar configuration, said curved contacting surface area of respectively adjacent electrical contacts facing in respectively opposite directions, and said contacts comprising trifurcated contacts having three cantilever arms extending generally in parallel and contacting portions of each cantilever arm. 
     
     
       31. The connector of claim 30, wherein the contacting portions of the pair of outer cantilever arms face in one direction and the contacting portion of the center cantilever arm faces in the relatively opposite direction. 
     
     
       32. The connection of claim 31, wherein the force created by the center cantilever arm when in connected relation is about the same in magnitude although opposite in direction as the total force created by the outer cantilever arms.